The Memory Shall Remain
by celrock
Summary: It's one week before their first concert to go see Emmica, and the gang finds out some news that shows them just how important one of their friends really is.
1. Chapter 1

The Memory Shall Remain

Summary: It's one week before their first concert to go see Emmica, and the gang finds out some news that shows them just how important one of their friends really is.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the original Rugrats characters, they're the property of their original creaters. Also Zack has been with the gang since Rugrats and the Gray Plague, which took place roughly 9 years prior to the events of this story.

Chapter 1

It was a Saturday morning in late April of the year 2022, and Tommy, Phil, Lil, Dil and Kimi are all waiting in line at the box office to buy their tickets for the Emmica concert.

"Hey, where's Chuckie?" Lil asked.

"He had to go to the dentist for his six months teeth cleaning, he should be here shortly." Replied Kimi.

"And where's Zack?" Phil asked.

"Didn't Zack tell you? He had a baseball game. He's planning to stop by here later to get his ticket." Replied Tommy.

"Well I just hope there are tickets left. Emmica's pretty popular." Replied Phil.

Just then, Chuckie shows up.

"Hey guys." Said Chuckie.

"Hey Chuckeroo, how was the dentist?" Tommy asked.

"The dentist wants me to get braces. I'll be going in on Thursday to have them put on." Replied Chuckie reluctantly.

"Don't worry Chuckie, I'm sure the braces will make you look cool." Said Tommy.

"I guess so, I'm just worried they're going to hurt." Replied Chuckie.

A few minutes later, they were at the front of the line. Tommy handed everybody's money over to the ticket people.

"We need six tickets for next Saturday's Emmica concert." Said Tommy as he handed everybody's money across the counter.

"Here you go." Said the ticket man, handing Tommy the tickets.

"Here are your tickets guys." Said Tommy, passing the tickets around to each of his friends and his brother.

The gang left the box office and headed for home.

Later, Susie and Angelica were walking by the box office.

"Oooh, I should see if there are any tickets left. Emmica is so cool!" Said Susie.

She headed up to the counter.

"I'd like one ticket for the Emmica concert please?" Said Susie.

"Sorry mam, but we're all sold out." Replied the ticket person.

Susie turned away from the counter with a frown and walked back towards Angelica.

"You should have ordered your ticket online, that's what I did. I've had a ticket for this concert for six months now." Said Angelica.

"Oh well, I'm sure there'll be other concerts." Said Susie as the two girls walked down the street.

They headed into the Java Lava to get a smoothie, where they ran into Zack.

"Hi Zack, how goes things?" Susie asked.

Zack looked up from his smoothie with a huge frown.

"Not so good." He replied.

"Awe, what's wrong?" Susie asked.

"My aunt and I are moving away to Wheeling, West Virginia. She got a new job." Replied Zack.

"Oh no that's awful!" Replied Susie.

"Yeah, and now I can't go to the Emmica concert with my friends next Saturday. And I was really looking forward to it cuz it was going to be our first concert. I was so looking forward to going, and maybe, just maybe, I'd get picked to go up on stage to sing with her. Though with the thousands of people attending this concert, just getting to hear her live would have been nice." Said Zack.

"Don't worry Zack, I'm not going either. Apparently this concert is pretty popular already. Was just at the box office and the tickets were already sold out." Replied Susie.

"Yeah cuz some people never listen to me." Grumbled Angelica, crossing her hands across her chest.

"Well, I'd better go find the others and give them the bad news. Any idea where they are?" Zack asked.

"Probably where they usually are. At cousin Tommy's of course." Replied Angelica.

Zack hopped on his bike he had left on the bike rack outside the Java Lava and headed off to Tommy's house. Meanwhile, Didi is peering into the hall closet to see a bunch of old toys and other junk, as she continued to work on her spring cleaning, when Tommy and Dil pass through the entry hall. Didi looks up from the closet and sees them passing by.

"My goodness, you boys have a lot of stuff in here that never gets played with anymore." Said Didi.

"Why do you think it stays in the closet mom?" Asked Dil.

"Now Dil, a lot of these old toys could go to good homes, to younger children who can still enjoy these items." Replied Didi.

"No one's gonna wanna play with that stuff, it's junk. Besides, I'm suppose to get together with Zack this afternoon." Said Tommy.

"Now think about this Tommy, you have a lot more stuff than you know what to do with. I think it's time we have a yard sale. And I'm sure your friends have a ton of stuff to get rid of too." Said Didi as she closed the closet door.

"Fine, I'll go give Chuckie, Phil, Lil and Zack a call and we'll put our stuff together and have a yard sale." Sighed Tommy as he headed off towards the kitchen.

Later at lunch time, everyone was sitting around in Tommy and Dil's kitchen eating pizzas for lunch.

"So Zack, did you get your ticket to the Emmica concert?" Tommy asked.

"No, I'm afraid I won't be going to the concert." Said Zack with a shrug.

"But why?" Lil asked.

"It's, well, it's because I'm moving away." Replied Zack.

"Moving, but how?" Chuckie said disappointingly.

"My aunt got a new job at a radio station in Wheeling, West Virginia. Sure it's the stomping grounds of my late mom, and I'll get to know my maternal grandparents, but it's just, not going to be the same without you guys. I was really looking forward to the Emmica concert, and going to middle school together." Said Zack.

"Well, we can at least spend the rest of the weekend together. When are you leaving?" Tommy asked.

"We're moving on Wednesday. I'll be turning in my science project to Mrs. Guppy on Monday, and my last day at school will be Tuesday." Replied Zack, as he took another bite of his pizza.

"So, what do you guys wanna do?" Chuckie asked.

"Well, our mom wants us to clean out our closets and have a yard sale." Said Dil.

"Ah, the old spring cleaning time again. I suppose seeing I'm about to move, it wouldn't hurt me to do the same. I've got nine years if not more of stuff built up in my room and closet, most of it just, sits there, collecting dust." Said Zack.

"Hey, maybe we should all clean out our closets and bring our stuff back to my yard and have a humungous yard sale. Think of the money we'll make." Said Tommy eagerly.

"That's a great idea Tommy." Replied Chuckie.

Everybody headed home and got together everything out of their closets, and brought the piles to Tommy and Dil's front yard. On Chuckie and Kimi's way to their house, they ran into Angelica and Susie and told them what they were up to, Angelica relented, till Susie spoke up and encouraged her to clean out her closet. Susie and Angelica ran home and added to the yard sale pile.

Zack was pulling out the many piles from his closet when Aunt Celeste walked into the room.

"What are you doing Zack?" Asked Aunt Celeste.

"Getting together everything I have no use for anymore for Tommy and Dil's yard sale. Their mom has gone on a spring cleaning spree and wants them to get rid of stuff they don't play with anymore. So Tommy suggested maybe we all should pitch in, and seeing we're going to be moving, I figured this was as good a time as any to get rid of some stuff, even though I'd prefer to sell it on ebay." Said Zack, turning away with a sigh.

Aunt Celeste walked up to Zack and lay a hand on his shoulder.

"I know this move isn't going to be easy for you, but you're going to get to make all sorts of new friends, and get to know your maternal grandparents. And I know they've been wanting to see you. They haven't seen you since before your mother and father died, and that was over nine years ago when you were still just a baby." Said Aunt Celeste.

"I don't want to move." Snapped Zack.

"I want to stay with the friends I've had for all eternity. And I hate that we have to move this week. Couldn't we move next week? After the Emmica concert?" Zack asked.

"I'm sorry Zack, but my boss wants me to start working next Saturday. Hey, maybe Emmica will be coming to Wheeling! We'll look online later. Right now, you go help Tommy with that yard sale, and good luck." Said Aunty Celeste, as she walked out the door.

"Thanks." Sighed Zack as he picked up his pile and headed outside the apartment down the street.

As he was heading back to Tommy's, something in a store window caught his eye. It was a Reptar skateboard. As he was admiring this item, Chuckie and Kimi walked up behind him, carrying their pile for the yard sale.

"Hi Zack, what are you looking at?" Chuckie asked.

"Oh how I long to have that Reptar skateboard. It's green just like him and not only is it in the shape of Reptar, but it can hold up to three passengers, and goes super fast!" Said Zack.

"Why don't you just buy it then?" Kimi asked.

"I would, but I really don't have the money. And yeah, I know I didn't spend the money I had saved up for my Emmica concert ticket, but I think until my aunt starts her new job, it would be best if I spend my money carefully right now." Said Zack with a sigh as he turned his gaze away from the store window, the three of them, walking down the street heading for Tommy's house.

They arrived to find everyone in the front yard, along with a huge pile of various toys, clothes, and other assorted items, an empty trash can, and a long table.

"Hey Kimi, Chuckie and Zack, you made it!" Said Tommy.

"Yep, and here's the rest of our stuff to add to the pile." Said Zack, dumping his pile on the ever growing stack. Chuckie and Kimi did the same.

"Ok guys, we need to sort out these piles into three categories. Items to sell, items to be thrown away, and items to keep." Said Tommy.

"And I've got a great idea on how we can sort this stuff. Anything to be thrown away, goes into the trash can." Said Zack, pointing to the empty trash can.

"Anything we're selling, goes on the large table that Tommy's mom put out here for us to use, or, I'm assuming she did anyway." Continued Zack, pointing to the large fold out table.

"And anything we're keeping, is to be put in a pile on the grass, and then carried into Tommy's house. Is everyone with me?" Zack asked.

The group nodded, and everyone, got to work.

Zack POV

I started looking through the piles, helping to sort out everyone's stuff. The first pile I came to was Chuckie and Kimi's.

"Wow Chuckie, you sure are organized. Look at this, all of the pieces to the Bogo Block Village. Man I haven't seen this in years! And your blocks! They're arranged by size, color and shape! And oh wow, it's Mister Banana Head!" I said, as I pulled the items out of Chuckie's pile.

"Thank you Zack. I've always made sure to take good care of my stuff." Replied Chuckie.

"Yeah, and I learned just how organized he was the first time I slept over." Said Tommy.

"Yeah, I seem to recall you were a bit messy back then, but it all turned out ok in the end." Chuckie said with a smile.

After I finished going through Chuckie and Kimi's stack, and he and Kimi decided what they wanted to sell, what they wanted to keep, and what they wanted to throw away, I moved on to Susie's. The first thing I pulled out looked like a small dollhouse.

"Oh wow, nice dollhouse!" I said to Susie.

"Thank you, that's my Cynthia malaboo beach house." Replied Susie.

"Remember when you almost gave that away to me cuz you thought you would be moving?" Angelica asked.

"Wow Susie, you almost moved too?" I asked.

"Yeah, I thought my daddy's boss, who creates the Dummi Bears was going to get us a new house. I'm so glad I was wrong." Replied Susie.

"So Susie, are you keeping this or selling it?" I asked.

"Go stick it on the table, I don't play with it anymore." Said Susie.

I continued to sort through Susie's pile, and just as I did with Chuckie's, we sorted things into piles to keep, sell, and throw away. We were now down to the last item in her pile, a tricycle.

"Hey Susie, I see your tricycle here, but the reflecter appears to be broken." I said, pointing to a reflector with a crack in it.

"Um, I did that, a long time ago." Said Angelica.

"Why am I not surprised." I replied.

"So, Susie, do you think anybody's going to want a trike with a broken reflecter?" I asked.

"I played with it up until kindergarten when I got too big for it. Let's sell it." Replied Susie.

"Ok, to the for sale pile you go. I'll just place you over here next to Chuckie's shiny red pedal car. Man I remember that car. You and Tommy took it when his Reptar wagon went missing a while back." I said, glancing over at the car.

"Yeah, and now a new child can enjoy it." Said Chuckie.

After I finished up sorting through Susie's pile, I went through Phil and Lil's. Most of their's consisted of old baby clothes, Reptar dolls, and small toys, as well as a box of Reptar action figures, and Phil's old ant farm. The ant farm went to the trash, while everything else, mostly went to the for sale table. I decided to double check with them, just to make sure they hadn't changed their mind about selling all of their stuff.

"Ok Phil and Lil, before I move on to Angelica's pile, are you sure there isn't anything you want to keep? Like Chuckie kept WahWah and Susie kept her favorite Dummi Bears doll and her monster book." I asked.

"Nah, none of that stuff is all that special anyway." Replied Phil.

"Half the time we fought over it anyway. I sure wish mom and dad would start treating us as two separate people." Grumbled Lil.

"Ok, I'm moving on to Angelica's pile." I replied, as I started going through Angelica's stuff.

The first thing I picked up was an old video tape titled Miss Carrol's Shoe Tying Series Volume 1.

"Oh wow I remember this video, it's how I learned to tie shoes!" I said, holding up the tape.

"That's how I learned how to tie shoes too." Added Angelica.

"Yeah, and everybody thought I was tying my own shoes, when I didn't know how." Said Chuckie.

"Yeah, but if I recall, I eventually, taught you how to tie your shoes. Remember? We were in our second year of preschool, and you were getting tired of always having to go up to Miss Applebee to get your shoes tied. So I finally taught you how to tie your shoes." I said.

"And I can't thank you enough." Replied Chuckie.

"No problem." I said, as I put the video on the table and continued to go through the pile.

The next thing I came to was Angelica's Cynthia doll. I picked it up.

"Freeze." Angelica shouted.

I stopped and looked at her.

"Put the doll down." Demanded Angelica.

I lay it down gently on the grass.

"Now, step away, slowly." Continued Angelica, as I stepped back from her pile of stuff.

"I'm guessing you're keeping Cynthia." I said.

"Cynthia's not a toy, she's a member of the family. And don't you forget it, you dumb preteen." Snapped Angelica.

"Ok ok, forget I said anything. And don't call me dumb. I've been putting up with that for the last nine years, and frankly, I'm sick of it. Heck, I'm sorry to say this Angelica, but I'll miss you the least of all." I snapped.

It was true, I wouldn't miss her one bit.

Angelica picked up Cynthia and carried her into Tommy's house, and stuffed it in her purse that she had left on the coffee table in their living room.

I continued to go through the pile, when I ran across a set of hand cuffs.

"Anybody want these hand cuffs?" I asked.

"No! I don't care to see those ever again!" Chuckie shouted.

"I'm guessing you had a traumatic experience with those." I said.

"Yeah, I was stuck on Angelica all afternoon while we looked all over for the key, only to find it on Angelica's floor later." Chuckie replied.

"Yeah and then I got hand cuffed to my bed. I wasn't even suppose to have those cuffs in the first place, they were suppose to go to an orphanage." Said Angelica.

"And why didn't they end up there?" I asked.

"Daddy found me cuffed to the bed at supper time. He uncuffed me, yelled at me forever about taking things that didn't belong to me, and for the past nine to ten years or so, they sat on the top shelf of my closet, well, until now. Well now some orphan or whoever can have those dumb old cuffs. They're going." Snapped Angelica, as she snatched the package out of my hand and threw it on the table.

"Ok?" I said.

I continued to go through Angelica's pile, sorting everything out into what to sell and what to keep. Finally, I came to the last item in her pile. It looked like a robot doll with red hair, purple and yellow polcadotted clothing, and had a blue face. It also appeared to have arms, legs, and a mouth that moved, but this toy was as dead as a doornail.

"Who's this?" I asked, holding up the doll.

"That's Mister Friend." Replied Tommy.

"The only one we didn't destroy after he scared us." Added Phil.

"Yeah we set him free through the loose fence board." Added Lil.

"Til I found it. I thought the toy was neat!" Said Angelica.

"Well, why didn't you guys like it?" I asked.

"Well for one thing, he talked all night, and smelled of burning rubber bands, and my daddy said he was full of bugs." Replied Tommy.

"He doesn't look that scary to me, but it's probably because we're older. And, it doesn't talk or move at all, it just sits there. Wait, I see something on the back." I said, pulling off a battery compartment door, to be greeted with something worse than bugs.

"And I think there's more than bugs in this toy." I said, as the battery acid covered my hand.

"Ewww, what's that?" Dil asked.

"Angelica, did this toy sit in the back of your closet for nine or ten years too? I'm guessing ten years, as I don't remember this toy." I said.

"No worries Zack, I don't remember it either." Added Dil.

Angelica nodded.

"Well, it's going to the trash. The batteries corroded and the toy is now leaking battery acid. It's worse than bugs. In fact, it's poisonous. I'm tossing this into the trash and heading inside to wash my hands before I go through anymore piles." I said, tossing Mister Friend into the trash can, making a loud thump against the metal can as he landed with a loud thud.

I then went inside, washed my hands, and came out to go through the last pile, which was Tommy and Dil's stuff, as I didn't need to go through my pile, since I only brought from my apartment what I wanted to get rid of anyway, tossing my pile on to the for sale table as soon as I arrived.

I came back to help Tommy and Dil sort through their stuff, and while the majority of us wanted to get rid of our things, this pile had a lot more memories for us in it. Probably because this was the house we've played at with this stuff over the last nine or more years, while everyone else's toys, mostly sat around, untouched at their houses.

"Oh look, it's our favorite ball. We use to roll this around for hours!" I said, picking up the green ball with the blue stripe and orange star on it.

"Yeah, remember when we went to the next yard to get that ball back?" Tommy asked.

"Yeah, I'll never forget that." Added Chuckie.

"Um, I don't remember that adventure." I replied.

"Neither do I." Said Kimi.

"So, we keeping it?" I asked.

Tommy couldn't bare to get rid of it so it went to the keep pile. I continued to go through the stuff, and ran across a stack of old baby clothes. I chuckled when I pulled out a yellow wig and a small blue dress.

"Hey what's so funny?" Dil asked.

I tried to stifle my laugh, but I just, couldn't.

"Did one of you dress up as a girl for Halloween or something when you were babies or something?" I asked.

"No." Replied Dil.

"Hmmm, I seem to recall something having to do with going fishing in a dress, but that's it." Said Tommy.

"Ok, I know we've done some crazy things, but going fishing in a dress, that's just crazy talk. I'm assuming you don't want this." I said.

Tommy and Dil nodded their heads and I put it along with the rest of the pile of old baby clothes on the ever growing stack on the table.

As I continued to go through the rest of the pile, we found plenty of stuff to sell. Old buckets and shovels for sandbox play, Reptar dolls, Dummi Bears dolls, and several other assorted items. Finally, we came to what was holding the majority of this pile, the Reptar wagon.

"Awe, the Reptar wagon. We had so many adventures in this old thing." I said, stroking the head of Reptar on the front of it.

"Yeah, we did." Said Tommy.

"Remember when we tried to take Dil back to the hospital in that thing?" Lil asked.

"Let's not go there." Said Chuckie.

"Well, we sadly can't fit in it now, so, should we sell it?" I asked.

"But my dad made that for me and Dil." Replied Tommy.

"Now Tommy, I know it has sentimental value, but don't you think it's time for a new generation to have adventures in it?" I asked.

"Ok, I guess so." Tommy said.

But before I rolled it next to Chuckie's pedal car and Susie's trike, I pulled out my phone and took a picture of it. In fact, I took pictures of everything that was out there, so we'd have a memory of all of our old toys. There was Phil's white bear Frosty, that I won for him at the carnival in the first grade when he threw up on the rollercoaster ride to help him feel better. There was the blue kitty cat we got for Tommy from Cynthia Land when he fell ill with that awful Foot in Mouth disease, or whatever it's called, and several other items we were parting ways with, out on the table, ready to sell.

Once we had everything ready to sell, we put price tags on everything while Susie made up a for sale sign and put it outside on the side of the table.

"So how much do you think the Reptar wagon should sell for?" I asked.

"Hmmm, I don't know, ten dollars?" Tommy replied.

I stuck a ten dollar price sticker on the side of the Reptar wagon, and the yard sale, began.

As the afternoon carried on, people came from all over buying our items at the yard sale. I sat there with a shoe box, collecting the money. Finally, everything had sold except for one item. There sat in the middle of the grass, Tommy's Boppo the clown doll.

"Nobody's gonna wanna buy that dumb old clown doll." Said Chuckie.

"Oh I'm sure they will. Let's just wait a little while longer." I replied.

As the sun was starting to set, a lady with black hair and her son with red hair, who looked to be about 3-years-old stopped off in the yard. The boy got really excited, as he played with the clown doll.

"Hi, I'm Boppo!" Said the clown doll as it fell over and came back up.

The boy did this several more times, making me more irritated with the toy as it continued to play over and over and over again. I was about to cover my ears, when the black haired lady walked up to me.

"How much is the clown doll? My son seems to like it!" Said the lady.

"It's five dollars." I replied.

The lady gave me the money, snatched up her son and the toy, and I could breethe a sigh of relief that I didn't have to hear that dumb old clown doll say, "Hi, I'm Boppo," anymore.

"Well guys we did it!" Said Tommy.

"Yep, we did, and, I'd better be getting home, my aunt wants me home for dinner." I said.

"Well ok then, thanks, and, we'll see you later." Said Tommy.

I waved goodbye and headed out of Tommy's yard. Before I rounded the corner though, I turned back to glance at Tommy's yard one last time, as I nearly started to cry, knowing this would be one of the last times I'd ever be in his yard again.

End of Zack POV

Tommy POV

As I sat there, watching Zack head for home and the sun set, I thought about all of the times Zack was there for us throughout our childhood. How he took my brother and my friends through Cynthia Land to get me that toy when I didn't feel well. How he helped me to face my fear of water to rescue my screwdriver and Chuckie's rock at that art museum celebration thing, from the bottom of the pools that were outside the art museum, and then in the third grade, he helped me to learn my multiplication tables. And I know Zack has helped my other friends as well. There wasn't a lot of time left, and if we were going to do something nice for Zack, to show him what an important friend he's been to us over the years, and to thank him, the time to act, was now.

End of Tommy POV

End of Chapter 1

So, what are they going to do to say goodbye to Zack? You'll have to find out, in chapter 2.

Author's Notes: I hope you guys enjoyed that chapter. The idea for the yard sale and the batteries being corroded in Mister Friend came to mind when I thought back to last summer. My family had a yard sale to make room for my nephew, who would soon be born, and I spent several hours in the basement playroom, going through old toys and trying to decide what to keep, what to sell, and what to throw away. I sadly found several toys where the batteries had corroded, and trust me, touching that stuff is very unpleasant, and I learned why it's important to take the batteries out of stuff if it's not being played with or used for a while. I'm currently suffering from a case of writer's block, but once I am over it, I'll write up the next chapter and have it posted soon.


	2. Chapter 2

Ok, my writer's block is finally gone, and, I've warded away any potential distractions, so, I give you, the next chapter!

Chapter 2

Tommy, Chuckie, Phil, Lil, Kimi and Dil were all sitting around in Tommy's living room on the couch after the yard sale, after seeing Zack head for home.

"You know what guys, I'm really going to miss Zack." Said Chuckie.

"Me too Chuckie, me too." Replied Tommy with a frown.

"So what are we going to do?" Lil asked.

"Guys, you know how Zack has helped us through so many things throughout our childhood? I mean look at how we met him in the first place. He gave Chuckie a friend to play with when I was struck ill with that Gray Plague and was in the hospital for a while, and then, later, we all befriended him, making him one of us." Said Tommy.

"Yeah! And he helped me feel comfortable about starting preschool, and helped me practice to be the ring barer in Taffy's wedding." Said Chuckie.

"Zack convinced me to stand up for myself, and confront my maternal grandparents about how much I hated Karate." Said Kimi.

"And that time when Zack took us through Cynthia Land. The night before that trip, I slept at his house. I had a lot of trouble sleeping that night, as it was the first time I was away from my older brother, who was home sick. But Zack was like a second brother to me. He comforted me and helped me fall asleep." Said Dil.

"You know, I think he's been like a brother to all of us, and a very close friend. So, we've got to do something nice for him before he moves away this next week." Said Tommy.

"We should throw him a party!" Said Lil.

"And I know of something he might like to have for a going away present. Tommy, how much money did we make at today's yard sale?" Chuckie asked.

Tommy counted up the dollar bills in the shoe box that was sitting in his lap, as Zack decided to leave the money with Tommy since it was his idea, not to mention, his mom's idea and suggestion to have the yard sale in the first place. After counting up the money, he gave the results.

"We made six-hundred dollars." Tommy said.

"Hey, that's enough money to throw a party, and get him a few nice gifts!" Said Kimi.

"Ok, and what about the party?" Asked Tommy.

"I happen to know that Zack always pays my dad's coffee shop a visit on Sunday mornings for breakfast. He orders two cherry doughnuts and a pineapple mango smoothie." Said Chuckie.

"And Zack was really sad about having to miss the Emmica concert next weekend." Said Kimi.

"Ok that settles it then. Kimi, you go online and see if you can't find out if Emmica will eventually be coming to his new home so he can see her in concert. And while you're at it, I know he was interested in getting the new Emmica CD that's coming out on Thursday. Chuckie, you make arrangements with your parents for his party tomorrow morning at the Java Lava, and the rest of us, will get together a few other nice gifts. But most importantly, nobody should say anything to Zack. It's a surprise. Got it?" Tommy said.

"It's a deal." Everybody replied in unison, as they all put their hands on top of one another's, and shook on it.

"Ok guys, let's go." Said Tommy, as the gang got off the couch, and headed off in separate directions to take care of getting everything ready for Zack's big surprise going away party.

Back at Zack's apartment, he too was busy trying to think of some nice things to do for his friends. After all, after only having his aunt as his care provider, he found Tommy, Chuckie, Phil, Lil, Kimi, Dil, and Susie to be more than just friends, but to him, they were also like brothers and sisters to him all of these years.

Zack POV

I went home, and thought a lot about just how much my friends meant to me. My aunt and I were eating supper in front of the TV, watching an episode of Full House on DVD, since with losing her current job, she canceled the digital cable portion of our cable package about a month ago, only paying for phone and Internet till we moved out. We were watching the episode from season 2 where Danny felt neglected, and then Joey reminded him of how when they were little, they buried their most prized posessions, and diclaired being soul mates. Then it hit me! I should do just that with my friends! But I knew that wouldn't be enough. First off though, after I finished supper, I went and put some finishing touches on my science project that I was turning in early on Monday to Mrs. Guppy. I was doing a project that was all about wind resistance. Out of my friends, all I knew thus far is Tommy was doing a project involving electricity, and sadly, because our projects wouldn't be presented until Friday, I was going to miss his presentation. Oh well, chances are he'd video tape everyone's presentations and post them on his Youtube channel he's had since we were all in kindergarten, so I wasn't too worried.

After finishing up my science project, I felt relieved it was done, so this way, I could spend my entire Sunday with my friends, since it would be the last non-school day I'd see everyone. Then, I searched around my room for a small box. I found one a top my dresser. It was a brown metal box that once held these figures called, Celebreties of the Past. They contained figures of such artists that existed before I was born back on October 10, 2012, like Aaron Carter, Britney Spears, Hillary Duff, and the five guys from some band that came out in the late 90's called N Sync. I wasn't interested in keeping this collection, so sold it at Tommy's yard sale, and surprisingly, it sold. But while I sold the figures, I kept the box, figuring I could always use it for something, and, it looked like the perfect size for our soul mate pledge box, which I'd get the gang together tomorrow afternoon after my weekly Sunday morning breakfast at the Java Lava. Then, I got on to my computer, and typed up the pledge, and printed out a copy to put into the box, and eight copies, one for each of us to keep in our possession as a reminder of the pledge, as it's easy in the heat of the moment, to forget who your real soul brothers and sisters are when they're not blood related to you.

After I finished that up, I pulled down a photo album from the bookshelf in the living room, and glanced through it. I saw several pictures of us when we were little, including a bunch with our babysitter Taffy.

"Wow I haven't seen Taffy since she got married, and that was five years ago!" I said out loud. Just then, my aunt walked into the room.

"What are you doing?" Aunty Celeste asked.

"Oh I was just looking at some old photos, and was thinking how we haven't seen Taffy in years. I wonder how she's doing." I replied.

"Taffy's doing fine! She's happily living in Hawaii now with her husband of five years, David Plunk, and they have two daughters, Amanda and Cortney. Her record sales have sadly declined since Emmica came on bored, but she's in a local band in Hawaii called the Hulagans." Said Aunt Celeste.

"How do you know all of this?" I asked.

"You know how Taffy and I were always close when she lived here. But she moved away a couple of years ago, and we've kept up on Facebook." Replied Aunt Celeste.

It was then that I got the perfect idea for the perfect present. I noticed next to the photo album an empty purple scrapbook, and got to work. I went through the photo album, and took out several important pictures of us. They ranged from pictures taken of us at Cynthia Land when we were toddlers, to our preschool graduation, Taffy's wedding, several Karate tests that Tommy, Chuckie and I had over the years, and much more. I put them all in the scrapbook in chronological order, but then, it hit me. Something was missing. I then thought back to earlier that day, how I took pictures of all of our toys at the yard sale before selling them. I pulled out my iPhone 9C, a Christmas present that my aunt had given me last year. It was only on a prepaid plan, but she told me that once we moved, and because I would be starting middle school soon, she would upgrade me to a regular plan, provided I was responsible and followed the rules she set. I hooked up the phone to my computer, backed up the pictures to my iTunes library, and printed them out. Then, I pasted them into the scrapbook, but I left a couple of pages blank, in the event I could get a couple of more pictures of us to put into the back of the book before I had to move.

Upon finishing this project, I glanced up at the clock on the wall to see that it was only 7:30. I decided since it was a Saturday night, I'd see if my friends wanted to hang out, as we usually got together on Saturday nights, whether it was to go see a movie, hang out at Tommy's, or just, slerp smoothies at the Java Lava, it was rare we weren't together on Saturdays. I glanced through the contacts in my phone, and since I had them in alphabetical order by first name, the first one I came to was Chuckie, so gave him a call first.

I dialed his number. The phone rang three times before someone picked up.

"Hello?" Said Chuckie.

"Hi is Chuckie there?" I asked.

"This is he." Chuckie replied.

"Hey pal it's Zack. Listen, I was wondering, would you like to go catch the final showing of Inversion Guy with me at the Octaplex tonight? I checked the showtimes earlier today and there's a 9:00 screening." I said.

"Oh sorry Zack, I can't. I've already got plans." Replied Chuckie.

"What about Kimi?" I asked.

"Um, Kimi has plans too. It's a brother sister thing." Chuckie replied.

"Oh, ok. Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow morning at the Java Lava then." I said with a sigh.

"Have a goodnight then." Said Chuckie.

"Goodnight." I said, as I hung up the phone.

I called up Phil and Lil, and Tommy and Dil, and sadly, the answer was the same. Everyone had plans, and it was the same old thing. Wanting to spend time with their sibling. Knowing Susie's siblings were much older than her, maybe she'd want to hang out, but when I called her house, her dad answered and told me she wasn't home, she was sleeping over at Angelica's. And I'm sorry, but I know Angelica is Tommy and Dil's cousin and all, and sure she's done some things for us, but half the time she lies, breaks her promises, and, I'll never be able to call Angelica my friend. I only call her house if I know Tommy or Dil is going to be over there, and they're expecting to hang out with me. So I just collapsed on my bed, thinking how it was strange that nobody wanted to hang out with me, seeing they all knew it was the last Saturday night ever we'd get to hang out together.

"Oh well, tomorrow is a brand new day." I thought to myself, and it would get here faster if I turned in early, so that's exactly what I did.

The next morning, I awoke and glanced over at the clock on my nightstand. It read 8:00 AM, which told me the Java Lava would be opening in half an hour, as they open later on Sundays. Knowing Tommy usually slept in until noon on Sundays, seeing that he'd usually be up late on Saturday nights, and I know yesterday, he went to get his ticket for the Emmica concert while I was at my baseball game, and my final game ever with the Little League team, and if it hadn't been to buy those tickets, his parents would have dragged him and Dil to Sinagog, I knew Chuckie would be up, as he usually goes over to the Java Lava with his parents on Sunday mornings, and very often, we'll have our breakfast together, provided he didn't sleep over at Tommy's or Phil's the night before. And knowing he had plans to hang out with his sister last night, I figured he'd be available. So I quickly showered, got dressed, and gave him a call. But when I gave his house a call, I got six rings followed by the answering machine.

"You've reached the Finster residence. Please leave a message after the tone." Said a recorded greeting in Chaz's voice.

I was surprised to get their answering machine, but maybe they left early to open up or something. Usually Chuckie and Kimi would walk down there after they were open for a bit. Nonetheless, I left a message after the beep.

"Hi Chuckie, it's Zack. Was just calling to see if you were up for having breakfast with me at the Java Lava today. I'll be heading out soon but I'll have my cell phone on me should you wish to give me a call. I'll talk to you later." I said, as I hung up the cordless land phone into its base, and headed out the door.

I was met by a nice breeze, and a beautiful sunny day. I hopped on to my bike, and glanced at my watch. It read 8:45 AM, which surely meant the Java Lava would be open by now. But when I arrived, I looked inside to see it was dark, and a close sign was on the door. This got me worried. The Java Lava was hardly ever late opening, unless a family emergency came up, or they weren't planning to open that day, and if that was the case, there'd usually be a detailed note on the door explaining the reason, but all there was this time was the usual sorry, we're closed sign. Just then, Chuckie approached me from the other direction.

"Morning Chuckie." I said.

"Hey Zack." Chuckie replied.

"What's going on? The Java Lava appears to be closed." I said.

Chuckie looked over at the sign, and then back at me.

"Oh, no, we're not closed. My dad must have forgotten to flip the sign to say open. That happens every once in a while." Replied Chuckie.

"Oh, ok then. Well, let's go in then." I said, putting my bike on to the bike rack and following Chuckie up to the door.

End of Zack POV

And, this marks the end of chapter 2. So, what do you think happens next? You'll have to wait, and find out, in chapter 3.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Chuckie and Zack walked up to the door of the Java Lava, but Chuckie stopped and turned to Zack when he got to the door.

"Where's your aunt?" Chuckie asked.

"My aunt? Well, she's probably still sleeping. I didn't see her before I left this morning, and you know for a fact that I usually come down here by myself. My aunt's been known to expect me here at this time on Sundays if she wakes up and wonders where I am." Zack replied.

"Well don't you think it would be nice to have your aunt join you for your final breakfast at the Java Lava?" Chuckie asked.

"That is an excellent idea, I'll give her a call and see if she's awake yet." Said Zack.

Zack pulled out his cell phone and gave his aunt a call. She answered the phone sleepily, but after they talked for a few minutes, she agreed to come down to the Java Lava, and in about half an hour, her driverless van pulled into the parking lot.

"We're over here Aunty Celeste." Said Zack from the door of the coffee shop, as Celeste walked over there with her cane.

"Ok, we can head inside now." Said Chuckie as he opened the door, reached in, and turned on a light.

"Surprise!" Shouted Tommy, Dil, Phil, Lil, Kimi, Dil, Susie, Angelica and everybody's families.

"Wow! You guys really got me!" Said Zack excitedly as he headed into the shop.

Zack POV

I went into the Java Lava to be surprised by all of my friends. They had thrown me a surprise going away party, and this left me not only surprised, but quite excited and pleased that they went through the trouble to do this for me. After the initial surprise, we all went and sat down at tables in the shop.

"Over here Zack." Said Tommy, I headed over in his direction and took a seat next to him, to find my two cherry doughnuts and pineapple mango smoothie already on the table in front of me.

"Wow! Thanks!" I said, taking a bite out of my doughnut.

"Yep, you're welcome Zack." Replied Tommy, smiling at me.

End of Zack POV

Aunt Celeste POV

I was led by Betty over to a large table where all of the other parents were sitting, post the initial surprise greeting.

"Here you go, a smoke salmon begal with cream cheese, just the way you like it." Said Betty, as I took my seat at the table, and she handed it to me.

"Thank you Betty, and thank you everyone for throwing us this going away surprise party. Really, you didn't have to do this." I said.

"Awe it was nothing. We were happy to do it." Said Betty.

"I'm just sorry the timing turned out bad. Zack really wanted to go to the Emmica concert." I said.

"Oh, and this means you're going to miss the disco dinosaur dance at the park next weekend. Didi and I are participating in the contest. I've just gotta get out my old gold madalion, it's my good luck charm, and I never dance without it." Said Stu, as he took a sip of his coffee.

"Awe, I'm sorry I have to miss that too. I love disco! But I hope you have fun, and good luck to any and all of you participating in the contest." I said.

"Thank you." Said Stu, Didi, Drew, Charlotte, Betty and Chaz.

End of Aunt Celeste POV

The gang continued to talk and eat their breakfast. Once everyone was finished, Chaz got up, walked to the front of the coffee shop, and made an announcement.

"As you all know, Zack here has been a very good friend to Chuckie since his third birthday. And we can't thank Aunt Celeste and her nephew Zack, for coming at what was a difficult time in Chuckie's life at the time, as his best friend Tommy, wasn't well at the time. But over the years, Zack and Chuckie, as well as the rest of the kids, their time together has been nothing but positive, and, we're going to miss you very much. I'd like to take this time, to have each of the kids come up here one at a time, and present Zack with some goodbye gifts they got together within the last twelve hours." Said Chaz, as he stepped aside, and the gang came up to where he was.

Zack POV

After Chuckie's dad finished talking, I headed up to the front of the coffee shop with all of my friends, each carrying gifts. The first one to hand me a gift was Tommy. I opened it, and found it was a DVD.

"This is a DVD of all of the movies I made with you in them." Said Tommy.

"Wow! Thank you very much!" I replied.

The next person to hand me a gift was Kimi. She handed me an envelope. I opened it to find a ticket to an Emmica concert!

"Wow! Front row seats to an Emmica concert taking place at the Wheeling Coliseum on December 3, 2022! I don't know what to say! You guys knew I wanted to see Emmica, and she's going to be in my soon to be new home town of Wheeling, West Virginia! Oh thanks guys, thanks a lot." I said.

"You're welcome! And just think, you'll get to go to her Christmas concert!" Said Lil.

"You're lucky. There were already several seats booked for this concert when Lil and I went online to preorder the tickets for you and your aunt to go to this concert." Added Phil.

"Wow." I said, as I was handed another envelope.

This one was handed to me by Dil. I opened it to find a gift receipt and a tracking number.

"What's this?" I asked.

"We preordered the new Emmica CD for you off of Amazon." Said Dil.

"Yeah we know how much you wanted that CD, and we weren't sure if you'd be able to hit a record store on Thursday to pick one up." Added Kimi.

"But how did you get my new address?" I asked.

"My mom already had it." Replied Tommy.

"Your aunt gave me your new address as soon as she found out you two would be moving." Said Didi from across the room.

"Wow, thank you so very much!" I said.

"We're not done yet, there's plenty more!" Said Tommy excitedly, as I was handed another package.

This package was wrapped, and handed to me by Chuckie. I opened it to find I was holding a scrapbook, similar to the one I put together last night, only this one was turquoise, and it had white stars on the cover. I flipped through the pages of the book, to see several pictures of us from our childhood, including pictures taken of me and Chuckie at his third birthday party, something I didn't have in the scrapbook I had made up for everyone else, which I planned to give to the gang after the party.

"Oh wow, you guys are so sweet to put together this lovely scrapbook of pictures and memories for me! Thank you!" I said.

"You're welcome Zack. Now you can look at that scrapbook, and remember all of the good times we had." Said Chuckie, as he gave me a hug.

"And now we have one more present to give to you Zack." Said Susie, as she handed me a rather large, flat box, wrapped in dark green shiny paper.

I opened it, and was quite overjoyed at what I saw. It was the Reptar skateboard I was eyeing in that store window yesterday when heading back to Tommy's house for the yard sale.

"Oh goodness guys, it's what I always wanted! Really, you guys didn't have to do all of this for me." I said.

"Of course we did. You've done so much for us." Said Tommy.

"Nah, really." I said.

"No, really Zack, you've done so much for us. You've been a best friend to me and Chuckie over the last nine years. You helped me overcome my fear of drowning, learn my multiplication tables, and you even taught us about blindness and how important it is to respect people, despite their disabilities and limitations back when we were in preschool and we played that blindfold game. And whenever I wanted you to be in one of my movies, you never hesitated. You were always there. I even remember that book report movie presentation we made over a year ago when we were in the fourth grade. For two weeks, you, Chuckie and I read out loud together The Adventures of Tom Soyer and Huckleberry Finn, and I made the movie. Ever since then, you gave us the cutest nicknames." Said Tommy.

It was true, ever since we did that video book report project back in the fourth grade, I referred to my two best buds as Tom Pickler and Chuckleberry Fin, and if I had been away for the weekend or something, and came back to school on Monday, I'd always ask, so, how go the adventures of Tom and Chuck, and they'd giggle and reply with how their weekend was.

"And you gave me a friend when Tommy couldn't be there. You helped me not be afraid to go to preschool. You helped me and Tommy find out that we had bedbugs, and your aunt got our families in touch with the right people so we could get rid of them. You taught me how to tie my shoes, and, you even helped me learn that practice makes perfect when I was nervous about being the ring barer in Taffy's wedding." Said Chuckie.

"You taught us about what Christmas is really about. How it was about the birth of Jesus Christ. I'll never forget that first Christmas we were together, how we played out the story of the first Christmas in Tommy's backyard, and then, we saw you at your church in that Christmas pajjent. And not only that, but you encouraged me to stand up for myself when I didn't want to take Karate, helping me to have the courage to do this, and not back down." Said Kimi.

"And, I know you and I don't exactly get along, but you also helped me out that time when I was in kindergarten, and that big fifth grade bully was after me." Said Angelica.

"Yeah Zack, you've been like a brother to me, and all of us." Said Dil.

"Wow, I have done a lot for you guys haven't I." I said.

"And what about yesterday. I mean you could have gone and helped your aunt get packed, but you pitched in and helped us with that yard sale at Tommy's. You've always been there for us Zack, and so, we wanted to do something nice for you." Said Susie, as she put her arm around my shoulder.

I nearly started crying, but I held back the tears.

"Well, you guys gave me something I could have never had otherwise. Because my parents died when I was very little, I would never have a chance to have any real brothers and sisters, and because my aunt was, and still is, single, the chances of me having any cousins to hang out with is well, pretty much, zippo, nada. So you guys gave me the brothers and sisters I always wanted. If anything, I'd have to say we're like soul brothers and sisters, and so, I'd like you guys to join me this afternoon in Tommy's backyard, to make it official." I said.

"What are you talking about Zack?" Tommy asked.

"To make it official, we each need to bury our most prized possession together in a box. I'd like everybody to head home and find something that's of importance to them, and meet me in Tommy's backyard in an hour." I said.

"Well, ok, we'll do this." Said Tommy.

"Trust me Tommy, I know what I'm doing. And just think, this will ensure our title as the adventure twins forever, even if we must venture separately in different parts of the world." I continued.

End of Zack POV

The gang headed out of the Java Lava a little while later, and everybody ran home and found something of importance and headed to Tommy's house. Zack ran home, printed out another copy of the pledge, as he decided to include Angelica in this ritual after hearing what she had to say about how he helped her stand up to that bully when she was in kindergarten, and he also grabbed the box to put the stuff into, and the purple scrapbook. Then, he headed off to Tommy's house, but rather than taking his bike this time, he decided to try out his new Reptar skateboard.

"Wee! This skateboard is cool!" Said Zack, as he sped down the sidewalk on his new skateboard, heading towards Tommy's house.

And, this marks, the end of chapter 3. So what will happen now? We'll find out, in chapter 4.


	4. Chapter 4, The Soul Mate Ritual and Sayi

Chapter 4, The Soul Mate Ritual and Saying Goodbye

The gang congrigated in Tommy's backyard, while their moms took Zack's aunt out for an afternoon of shopping and lunch, as a way of thanking her for all of those times she helped out by watching the kids when they were little. Drew and Howard went home to do work and house chores, Chaz stayed behind at the Java Lava to run the coffee shop, and Stu was down in the basement, working on one of his latest inventions.

Zack put his skateboard in Tommy's garage and headed around to the backyard. It hadn't changed much over the nine years Zack had played there, except Spike was way overweight now, and Spikfee was no longer a puppy, full grown, and more or less, the same size Spike was when Spikfee was born. The dogs were napping in their doghouse, while the gang congrigated the back of the yard, near the tree, and past the sandbox, which was desserted of toys, but still held sand. They would have sold it at the yard sale the previous day, but trying to get it out of the yard and the sand emptied out was too much of a hassle, so they figured if another yard sale should come around, they'll sell it then.

Zack took off his backpack he had on his back, as it was a safer means of carrying the contents he was bringing while riding his new skateboard, set it down on the ground, and pulled out the stack of pledges, a pen, the purple scrapbook, and the box. Meanwhile, Tommy set up a video camera on a tripod across the way, angling it so he could capture this entire ritual on film, which would later be posted to his youtube channel.

"Good afternoon everyone. Today is a very special day, as we stand here in the backyard of Tommy and Dil Pickles. The yard where my friends and I have played for many years together, and have had countless adventures, and hours of fun. And soon, this yard will forever hold, a sacred piece of history. I've called everyone here this afternoon to perform a sacred ritual. Momentarily, I will be passing around a small box. In this box, you are to place one item of importance to you, and prior to putting it into the box, you are to say your name, what the item is, and something about why it holds a sense of importance to you." Said Zack.

"I'll go first." Zack continued, as he pulled a rabbit's foot out of his pants pocket.

"Hello, I'm Zack, and this is a rabbit's foot that I've carried around for the last eight years. My aunt gave this to me on my first day of preschool, as a simble of good luck, and I've carried it with me ever since." Said Zack, as he placed the rabbit's foot into the box.

Zack then passed the box to Tommy, who pulled his infamous plastic screwdriver out of his pants pocket.

"I'm Tommy, and I've had this screwdriver for as long as I can remember. When we were babies, I used it to break open our playpen and take us on all of those fun adventures. I stopped carrying it regularly once we hit the first grade, but never lost sight of it, as it lived buried in my sock drawer for the last few years. And now, because this screwdriver allowed me to have freedom, I place it into the box, to remind us of what it allowed us to do. Go on many adventures, that wouldn't have been possible otherwise, and have some of the bestest times we've ever had." Said Tommy, as he put the screwdriver into the box, and passed the box to Chuckie.

Chuckie pulled out his little moon rock from his pants pocket.

"Well, um… I'm Chuckie, and, well, this is a very special moon rock that I've had ever since I was very little. It has helped me to feel safe, and not as scared about the things around me." Said Chuckie, as he placed the moon rock into the box, and handed the box to Phil.

Phil pulled an old popcicle stick out of his pants pocket.

"I'm Phil, and this popcicle stick is very special to me, because I've had it ever since I was quite little. Maybe even before I could start walking, I can't remember now. But after eating a popcickle at the park off of this stick, I lay it on the ground, and a bug crawled on top of it. I picked up the popcickle stick with the bug on it, and ate it, resulting in it being the first time I ever ate bugs. I loved it so much, that I've never lost sight of this popcickle stick ever since." Said Phil, as he lay the popcickle stick into the box, and handed the box to his sister Lil.

Lil pulled out a pink hair brush from her dress pocket.

"Well, I'm Lil, and I'm placing my favorite hairbrush into the box. It's not only my favorite color, but I've had it ever since I was in kindergarten. Phil gave me this brush for my fifth birthday, and I've used it ever since. Not that I haven't liked most of the other gifts that my brother has given me over the years, but this was one of the few times when Phil wasn't disgusting in our youth, and gave me something I really wanted." Said Lil, as she placed the brush into the box, and handed the box to Kimi.

Kimi removed a charm bracelet off of her wrist.

"My name is Kimi, and I shall place into the box, the last suvineer I ever got from Euro Reptar Land when my mom and I still lived in Paris. An official Euro Reptar Land charm bracelet, complete with charms of the different Reptar rides at the amusement park, and a charm that said Euro Reptar Land on it." Said Kimi, as she placed the bracelet into the box, and then handed the box to Dil.

Dil pulled out an alien eraser from his pants pocket.

"I'm Dil, and this is my alien eraser. My brother Tommy gave this to me on my first day of kindergarten, and he told me that if I kept it with me, that I'd never be lonely, as I was nervous about making new friends at school. So I did, and it took the form of my friend Izzy for the last few years. Now, I shall send Izzy into orbit, and set him free to guard my friends posessions." Said Dil, as he lay the eraser into the box, and handed the box to Susie.

Susie picked up the photo album her great aunt gave to her on Kwanza several years ago.

"Hi, I'm Susie, and this book was given to me by my great aunt on Kwanza a long time ago. It is special to me because it holds pictures of all of the great people in the world, but always remember that you don't have to be rich and famous to be great, and in fact, everyone is great, in their own, special way." Said Susie, as she placed this very special photo album, into the box, and handed the box to Angelica.

Angelica removed a small Cynthia key chain from her purse.

"I can't believe I'm going along with this, but I'm Angelica, and while I can't part ways with my Cynthia doll, I'll leave the Cynthia key chain that Susie gave me for my sixth birthday in this box, because Cynthia is not only family to me, but she's my friend and companion for life, and helps me through the good times, and the bad times." Said Angelica, as she lay the keychain into the box, and handed the box back to Zack.

Zack then went around, with the pledge and had each of the members of the gang, sign their initials. They went around nine times, signing their name on every copy of the sacred document. Once everyone had gone around and signed it, keeping one copy for their own records, and handing Zack two copies of the pledge, his personal copy and the copy to be placed into the box, Zack read the entire pledge aloud.

"This pledge signifies that on the afternoon of Sunday, April 24, 2022, we agree to be soul brothers and sisters forever, no matter how far away we are from one another. Signed ZW, TP, CF, PD, LD, KF, DP, SC, and AP." Said Zack, as he then folded up the pledge and placed it into the box.

After doing this, he put the lid on the box, and motioned to Phil and Lil.

"I've never really approved of your love of dirt and digging in the mud, but right now, your skills will be of some use." Said Zack, as he handed Phil and Lil a shovel.

"Um, Zack, I don't dig in the dirt anymore." Said Lil.

"You don't?" Zack asked.

"You know I haven't played in the dirt since we started kindergarten, but I know Phil will be happy to do this job." Said Lil.

So Phil got to work digging a whole near the tree, and once it was deep enough, Zack threw the box into the whole, and Phil covered the whole up.

"And so, this ends the ritual of us becoming soul brothers and sisters. May we remain soul brothers and sisters, forever." Said Zack, as he put his hand out, and everyone else, stacked their hands on top, performing a secret hand shake.

Tommy went and switched off the video camera, and a few minutes later, the gang was sitting around in the grass, looking through the purple scrapbook that Zack had put together the night before. They looked through the pictures, commenting on different memories based on what they saw. They got to the pictures taken at Taffy's wedding, and Susie noticed herself as a flower girl.

"I remember that day very well. Angelica was jealous of me being the flower girl and how I got to sing in the wedding, but I then lost my voice that morning, resulting in Angelica getting to at least sing at the wedding, even though I kept my other position." Said Susie, as she started to tear up.

"I'm gonna miss you Zack." Said Susie, as she continued to cry.

Everyone else started crying at this point, and gave Zack, a huge group hug.

"Gosh Zack, I wish you weren't moving away." Said Tommy.

"Me too, I'm gonna miss you so much." Replied Zack in between sobs.

A little while later, after everyone had a good cry, Zack decided who would get the purple scrapbook.

"I'm giving this scrapbook to my bold adventure twin Tommy. If it weren't for him, I would have never met you guys in the first place." Said Zack.

"I thought Chuckie was the reason we met." Said Phil.

"Well physically, yes, but had Tommy been there at the park the entire time playing with him on his third birthday, and not coming from the hospital being released from Gray Plague suffering, Chuckie would have been off playing with him, and I would have been all alone, and probably ended up playing with somebody else eventually instead." Explained Zack.

"Wow, thanks Zack." Said Tommy, picking up the purple scrapbook and hugging it close to his chest.

"You're welcome soul mate." Said Zack.

"And just think guys, we can always keep up with Zack even though he'll be far away." Said Tommy.

"I already have you all friended on Facebook. I can check out Tommy's future movies on Youtube, and, I already have your numbers in my phone, and I'll make sure to give you all my new cell phone and house phone numbers once I've moved." Said Zack.

"Yeah we'll miss ya, but we'll be sure to keep in touch." Said Chuckie.

"And hey, maybe we can visit one another." Said Kimi excitedly.

"Like visit you at the holidays." Said Lil.

"Or during the summer." Added Phil.

"That's a great idea! It will definitely, have to be arranged." Said Zack, as he looked towards the sky to notice the sun starting to set.

"Well guys, it is a school night, so I'd better be heading home. Oh, but before I go, I just wanted to say, I tried out my new Reptar skateboard to get here, and, I love it! Thank you so very much, you're the best pals anyone could ever have." Said Zack, as he headed out of the backyard, got on his skateboard, and headed for home.

Three days later, on the early Wednesday morning of April 27, 2022, Tommy and Chuckie opted not to take the schoolbus to school, being driven by Tommy's grandpa Lou, and instead, they road their bikes to school, taking the route that would pass by Zack's apartment. They wanted to tell Zack goodbye one last time before he was gone. They arrived at his apartment building to see the moving truck out front, and only a few boxes left in the parking lot near the truck. Just then, Zack walked outside and noticed Tommy and Chuckie.

"What are you guys doing here?" Zack asked.

"We wanted to say goodbye to you one more time." Said Tommy.

"Yeah we're really going to miss you." Added Chuckie.

"Oh guys, I'll miss you too." Said Zack, as he started to cry uncontrollably.

Tommy and Chuckie hugged him back, the three of them, crying for several minutes. Meanwhile, the movers packed the rest of the boxes into the moving truck, and Aunt Celeste walked out of the apartment building.

"Awe, is that Tommy and Chuckie?" Aunt Celeste asked.

"Yeah, it is." Replied Zack in between sobs.

"Oh, I know you guys are going to miss one another, and I'm going to miss you too. I'll especially miss reading you those Armadillo Dave comic books when you sleep over Chuckie." Said Aunt Celeste.

"Actually come to think of it, you haven't read those to us in a few years, not since we were in second grade, but yeah, I'll never forget that. It was thanks to you I was introduced to my new and favorite super hero, Armadillo Dave." Said Chuckie.

"And I loved getting to do all sorts of new games and learn about new stuff when I came over here. If I should ever play the blindfold game in the future, I'll always think of you." Said Tommy.

"Thanks guys, that really means a lot." Replied Zack.

"Zachary, it's time for us to go." Said Aunt Celeste, as she got into the driverless van, and started it up, punching in their address in Wheeling, West Virginia into the computerized GPS system.

"Well guys, I'd better be going." Said Zack, giving Tommy and Chuckie one last hug before getting into the van.

"Bye Zack." Tommy and Chuckie said in unison, as they waved goodbye, and watched the driverless van drive away down the street, the moving truck, following close behind.

Tommy and Chuckie sat on the front steps of the building for a few minutes, hugging one another and having a good cry, before getting up to leave.

"Tommy, we'd better get to school we don't wanna be late." Said Chuckie, as he hopped on to his bike.

"You're right Chuckie, let's go." Said Tommy, hopping on to his bike.

"Tommy, do you think that whole pledge thing we did the other day is really true? Are we soul mates?" Chuckie asked.

"Yeah we are, we've always been best friends, even before Zack came into our lives, and we'll always be best friends, forever and ever." Said Tommy, as the two of them, road their bikes down the street, in the direction of school.

The End

Author's Notes: I couldn't remember the name of Susie's great aunt from that Kwanza episode who gave her the photo album, so put it down in a way where I could not mention her name. If anybody wishes to correct me on that should I mention her again in a future story, please feel free to do so. I also thought that ritual and declaring the gang as soul mates would make the story, bitter sweet, and had I created AGU, I would have done something like what was done here for a finale of the series. But I'm just a fan fic writer who comes up with my own stuff based off of characters that I've loved since my childhood, and then there are those I make up as I go along, and, maybe Zack has moved away at this time, but I can assure you all, he isn't disappearing for good, and you'll learn all about that, come my next story. Also, it should be noted that if you didn't guess, this story led to the start of AGU. As for when Zack will reappear, well, it won't be for a very long time, post the end of AGU, but that my friends, is a story for another day. Thanks for reading, and, I'll be back, with more Rugrats AGU stories, sometime soon.


End file.
